Bottle carrier



Aug. 13, 1946a E. E. MORGAN 2,405,753

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed April 5, 1944 2 Sheebs-Sheet l INVENTOR [A/RL 5. MOAG/M/ W X W,

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1945- E. E. MORGAN w 2,405,753

I BOTTLE GARRIER 7 Filed April 5, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 YZyB Patented Aug. 13, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE CARRIER Earl E. Morgan, La Fayette, Ind.

Application April 5, 1944, Serial No. 529,558

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to a bottle carrier. The primary object of the invention is to provide a carrier for soft drink bottles, and the like, obviating the disadvantages of the numerous forms of carriers which have heretofore been used commercially.

To this end, my new bottle carrier is sturdy and of such character as not to be readily dainaged. It is further of such character that a number of bottles less than the maximum for which it is designed may be safely and securely carried' thereby. Its construction is such that the bottles will not rattle and bump against each other, or parts of the carrier, when supported in the carrier. Its construction is such that the carrier may simply be set down upon a set of bottles, standing in a flat and, Without manipulation of the individual bottles, can be so associated with a group of bottles in the flat that, when the carrier is again lifted, those bottles will be removed from the fiat and securely supported in the carrier. Conversely, a set of empty bottles, supported in the carrier, may be returned to a flat, without individual manipulation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a carrier, having the characteristics above described, and capable of being inexpensively manufactured. To this end, my carrier is so designed as to bemade upof a minimum number of interchangeable parts, individually inexpensively produced, and very simply assembled.

Further objects and accomplishments of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however,

that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific constructions illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

Fig. l is an end elevation of a carrier constructed in accordance with my invention, with bottles retained therein;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a blank for a body member of the said embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation of a blank for forming another element of the said embodiment;

Fig-4.- is a top plan of the unit formed from the blank of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the unit of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken upon a plane parallel to the plane of Fi 1;

Fig. 7 is an end elevation of another embodiment of my invention, with bottles associated with the carrier;

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the carrier of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a bottom plan of the said carrier;

I finished unit, those ears define an upwardly open- Fig. 10 is a partial isometric view of a fragment of the said carrier; and

Fig. 11 is a similar view showing bottles associated therewith.

Referring, now, to the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, the reference numeral [0 indicates generally a body blank having two portions II and I2 symmetrical with respect to a central fold line It. Blank portion II is formed with a hand hole It adapted, when the blank is folded, to register with a hand hole 15 in the blank portion l-2.

Similarly, the blank portion I 1 is punched to provide ports I 6, I1, and I8 which, when the blank is folded, register with ports I9, 20, and 2|, respectively, punched in the portion [2. Rivet holes 22, 23, and 24 in the blank portion 1 I register, when the blank is folded, with corresponding holes 25, 26, and 21 in the blank portion I2.

The blank portion II is further punched at 28 to provide a tongue 29, and at 30 to provide a tongue 3!, for a purpose later to be described. At symmetrically related points, the blank portion I2 is similarly punched at 32 to provide a tongue 33 and at 34 to provide a tongue 35.

A retainer unit is adapted to be formed from a blank indicated generally by the reference numeral 36. Said blank comprises three portions, 31, 38, and 39, having curved upper and lower edges, and adapted to be bent to the U-shape illustrated in Fig. 4. I'he sections 31 and 38 are joined by a section 40, having straight upper and lower edges, while the sections 38 and 39 are joined by a section 46 similar to the section 49. Portions 42 and 43 at the opposite ends of the blank likewise remain unbent, and the portions 4B, 4!, 4-2, and 43, in the finished unit, lie sub stantially in a common plane.

Substantially at the juncture of the section 31 with the section 42, the upper edge of the blank 36 is provided with an upstanding ear 44; and similar ears 45, 46, 47, 48, and 49 are provided at each of the junctures between a portion of the blank to be bent and an adjacent portion of the blank to remain unbent. In bringing the retainer unit to its final form, these ears are all bent rearwardly into substantial perpendioularity to the portions of the blank to which they are attached, and the ears are further forced inwardly from the blank edge and dished, so that, in the ing substantially horizontal channel extending transversely across the open ends of the U- shaped portions 31, 38, and 39 of the unit.

Adjacent the section 40, a tongue 50 is punched from the wall of the section 3-1, said tongue being adapted to be bent outwardly about its base 50. A similar tongue 5| is punched from the wall of the section 38 adjacent the section 40, said tongue likewise being adapted to be bent outwardly about the line 5|'. Thus the tongues 50 and 5|, in the finished unit, cooperat to form a finger piece. between the U-shaped sections 31 and 38 and lying substantially in a horizontal plane.

A similar tongue 52, punched from the wall of the section 38 adjacent the section 4|, is adapted to be bent outwardly along the line 52 to cooperate similarly with a tongue 53 punched from the wall of the section 39 adjacent the section 4| and adapted to be bent outwardly along th line 53'.

A retainer unit, before having its tongues 50, 5|, 52, and 53 bent out of the planes of their walls, is assembled with one portion II or I2 of a blank I by pressing the sections 31, 38, and 39 through, for instance, the ports I9, 20, and 2| of the portion I2. When the tongues 50, 52, and 53 are now bent into the positions illustrated in Fig. 4, they will act to retain the unit against withdrawal through the said ports. The tongues 44, 45, 46, 41, 48, and 49 likewise assist in retaining the unit in place.

A corresponding unit will be similarly associated with the blank section II by passing its U- shaped sections through the ports I3, I1, and I8 of said blank portion, from the same side of the blank. If, now, the blank III is folded upon the line I3, and if its two portions are secured together by rivets passed through the holes 22--25, 23-20, and 242I, it will be seen that the bases (40, 4|, 42, and 43) .of the two retainer units will be imprisoned between the two secured sections I I and I2 of the blank I0.

A rock shaft 54, supported in the channel defined by the ears 4449, will be retained in place, upon the outer surface of the body section I2, by bending the ears 33 and 35 into the position indicated in Fig. 6. Said rock shaft carries a retainer leaf 55 adapted to be moved into and out of retaining engagement with the necks 63 of the bottles 6|, which bottle necks have previously been projected upwardly through the U-shaped sections 31, 38, and 39, or any of them. The rock shaft and its leaf 55 are manipulable through the medium of a finger piece 55; and when the leaf 55 has been turned into retaining engagement with the upper portion 03 of the bottle necks, such upper portion of any bottle associated with the unit sections 31, 30, or 39 will be so pressed into engagement with its associated 'U-shaped section that it cannot be withdrawn from such section. Incidentally, it will be further noted that such engagement of the leaf 55 with the bottle necks forces the lower portions of the bottles into contact with the lower edge of the body, as well as into contact with the lower portion of any bottle at that time associated with the cor responding U-shaped retainer section on the opposite side of the body. A rock shaft 51 is similarly mounted in the channel defined by th ears of the retainer unit carried upon the opposite side of the holder, and is retained therein by the tongues 29 and 3|, said rock shaft carrying a similar retainer leaf 58 with a finger piece 59. The finger pieces 53 and 59 are arranged in vertical alignment with the finger pieces formed by the tongues 50 and 5| and by the tongues 52 and 53, so that an operator may grasp one of the finger pieces 56 and one of the tongue pairs (52, 53, for instance) between a thumb and finger for operating the leaf 55.

While the above-described embodiment f my invention is believed, now, to be the most practicabl form thereof from the standpoint of commercial manufacture and assembly, I have shown another form of the invention in Figs. '7 to 11. In that form, a body IOI may be a sheet of metal, Masonite, plastic, plywood, or any desired material. It is provided, adjacent its upper edge, with a hand hole I02; and secured to each of its opposite faces is a retainer unit, indicated generally by the reference numeral I03.

Each of these units I03 may be formed of a singl piece of malleable material. One adaptable material is thin sheet metal.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the unit I03 may consist of a single piece of sheet metal. One end portion I04 of the strip is flat and is adapted to have one surface in contact with, and secured to, a face of the body I0| adjacent the hand hole I02. A second section I05, merges with the section I04 and is curved outwardly therefrom to U-shape, returning into contact with the outer surface of the section I04, where it merges with a third section I06, lying flatly in contact with said surface of the section I04. A fourth section I0'I merges with the sec tion I05 and is curved outwardly into U-shape to return to the plane of the section I06, where said section I0'I merges with a fiat section I08 1ying in said plane. A sixth section I09 again curves outwardly and returns, in U-shape, to th plane of the section I04, where it merges with a seventh section IIO lying in said plane in contact with, and secured to, the said surface of the body IIII. The end III of the section IIO abuts the end I I2 of the section I04.

The section I00 is punched at II3 to provide a tongue I I4 bent outwardly into substantial perpendicularity with the plane of the section I06;

and the section I08 is similarly punched at I I5 to provide a similar tongue IIB bent outwardly into substantially the plane of the tongu II4. J ournal means I I8 and I I9 are supported in the walls of the sections I09 and I05 to provide a journal mounting for a retainer leaf I20 which is preferably provided with curved notches I2I, I 22, and I23 bisected by the bisectors of the U-shaped sections I05, I01, and I09, respectively. Finger pieces I24 and I25 are formed on the leaf I20 to lie in substantially vertical alignment with the tongues H4 and H6.

A similar unit I26 comprises a section I21 corresponding to the section I04, a section I28 corresponding to the section I05, a section I20 corresponding to the section I00, a section I30 corresponding to the section I01, 3, section I3I corresponding to the section I08, a. section I32 corresponding to the section I09, and a section I33 corresponding to the section H0. The unit I20 has its sections I21 and I33 lying in contact with the opposite surface of the body IOI. Said unit I26 is provided with tongues I34 and I 35 punched out of its sections I29 and I3I in correspondence to the tongues I I4 and I I6 of the unit I03. Journal mean I36 and I3! are supported in the walls of the sections I32 and I28, respectively, to provitie a journal mounting for a leaf I38 corresponding to the leaf I20 and having notches I39, I 40, and I 4| formed therein to cooperate with the unit sections I28, I30, and I32. Said leaf I38 is provided with thumb pieces I 42 and I43 corresponding to the thumb pieces I24 and I25.

Rivets I44 and I45 pass through the section I04 of the unit I03, the body I0 I, and the section I2I of the unit I20 to secure said unit sections to opposite surfaces of the body I 0|. Similarly, rivets I45 and MI secure the sections H0 and I33 to opposite surfaces of the body IOI. T Rivet I48 passes through the section I06 and section I04 of unit I03, through the body I I, and through the sections I21 and I29 of the unit I26; and similarly, a rivet I49 passes through the section I68 and section II!) of the unit I03, and through the section I33 and section I3I of unit I26.

When bottles I50 and I5I have their necks I52 and I53 projected upwardly through the section I69 of unit I33 and the section I32 of unit I26, and when the thumb pieces I and I43 of the leaves I29 and I38 are thrown downwardly into the positions illustrated in Fig. 7, the notches I23 and MI of the said leaves I23 and I38 snap past the beads of said bottle necks to force said beads to overlie the upper edges of the U-shaped sections, thereby positively retaining said bottle necks against withdrawal.

Preferably, the upper edges of the U-shaped sections of the retainer units of both forms of the invention may be rolled slightly outwardly, as indicated at I54 in Fig. 4.

It will be obvious that the embodiment of Figs. 8 to 11 lends itself admirably to production from molded plastic material. That is, it would be entirely feasible to mold or cast a one-piece unit comprising a body like the body I!!! provided with integral yokes on its opposite surfaces, like the yokes I05, I01, I09, I23, I30, and I32, and further provided with finger pieces like the finger pieces H4, H6, I34, and I35. With such a unit might be associated pivoted leaves like the leaves I2t and I38, which leaves might be pivotally supported upon the main body either by trunnions like the trunnions H8, II9, I35, and I3! projecting through the end walls of the yoke elements, or by means of trunnions supported in journals formed similar to the journal means of the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 6.

I claim as my invention:

1. A bottle carrier comprising a sheet symmetrical on opposite sides of a median line and formed, on each side of said line, with a handhole and a plurality of ports, said hand-hole and ports at one side of said line being adapted and arranged to register with the corresponding openings on the other side of said line when said sheet is folded on said line, two retainer units, each formed to provide a plurality of yokes open at their tops and bottoms and projecting in a common direction from a base, the number of yokes in each retainer unit being equal to the number of ports in said sheet on one side of said line, and the yokes or each unit being projected through said ports with the bases of said units disposed in substantial contact with each other between the sides or said folded sheet, means securing the sides of said folded sheet together to imprison the bases of said units, and means carried at each side of said sheet and cooperable with the necks of bottles projected through the yokes at that side of said sheet to retain such bottle necks against withdrawal from the yokes with which they are associated.

2. A bottle holder comprising a laminated body of at least two laminae, each formed with a plurality of ports therethrough, two retainer units, each formed to provide a plurality of yokes Open at their tops and bottoms and projecting in a common direction from a base, the number of yokes in each retainer unit being equal to the number of ports in one of said laminae and the yokes of each unit being projected through the ports of one of said laminae with the bases of said units disposed between said laminae,

means securing said laminae together to imprison said unit bases, and means associated with said body and cooperable with the necks of bottles projected through said yokes to retain such bottle necks against withdrawal from the yokes with which they are associated. I V

3. A bottle holder comprising a laminated body of at least two laminae, each formed with a plurality of ports therethrough, two retainer units, each formed from a blank comprising a plurality of portions adapted to be bent to U-shape interdigitated between portions adapted to remain unbent, the upper edge of said blank being formed, substantially at each point of juncture of one of said first-named portions with one of said second-named portions, with an upstanding ear, said ears being bent nto general perpendicularity with the walls of said U-shaped portions and being dished to define an upwardlyopen channel traversing the bases of said U- shaped portions, the number of U shaped portions of each of said units being equal to the number of: ports in one of said laminae and said portions being projected through such ports with the bases of said units disposed between said laminae and with said channels disposed outside said laminae, means securing said laminae together to imprison said unit bases, and means supported in said channels and cooperable with the necks of bottles projected through said U- shaped portions of said units to retain such bottle necks against withdrawal therefrom.

4. A bottle holder comprising a laminated body of at least two laminae, one formed with a plurality of ports therethrough, a retainer unit formed to provide a plurality of yokes open at their tops and bottoms and projecting in a common direction from a base, the number of such yokes being equal to the number of such ports and said yokes being projected through such ports leaving said base disposed between said laminae, and means securing said laminae together to imprison said base.

5. A bottle holder comprising a laminated body of at least two laminae, one formed with a plurality of ports therethrough, a retainer unit formed to provide a plurality of yokes open at their tops and bottoms and projecting in a common direction from a base, the number of such yokes being equal to the number of such ports and said yokes being projected through such ports leaving said base disposed between said laminae, means securing said laminae together to imprison said base, and means associated with said body and cooperable with the necks of bottles projected through said yokes to retain such bottle necks against withdrawal firom the yokes with which they are associated.

6. A bottle holder comprising a laminated body of at least two laminae, each formed with a plurality of ports therethrough, two retainer units, each formed to provide a plurality of yokes open at their tops and bottoms and projecting in a common direction from a base, the number of yokes in each retainer being equal to the number of ports in one of said laminae and the yokes of each unit being projected through the ports %of one of said laminae with the bases of said units disposed between said laminae, and means securing said laminae together to imprison said unit bases.

EARL E. MORGAN. 

